


Monster

by hypochondriacandatrashmouth



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), MCU, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Does that make sense?, Evil toxic bugs, Scott Lang centric, We Need More Of These, not really possession but something similar?, this isn't Deadpool I mean come on, violence but not too graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-10-28 11:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17786636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypochondriacandatrashmouth/pseuds/hypochondriacandatrashmouth
Summary: After getting bitten by a toxic bug during a fight with an insane villain, Scott Lang has slowly started changing. He is more hostile and is slowly starting to not recognize his friends and team.At first, they all just thought it was side effects of the Quantum Energy he has been exposed to more often. But they realize that was not it only when he hurts one of his beloved friends.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a book, not a oneshot like my other Scott Lang work. 
> 
> This was mildly inspired by the song "Monster" by Beth Crowley.

Scott hissed in pain and smacked his arm, squashing the bug that had just bitten him through the suit. He watched at the now-dead creature fell to the ground and grimaced. He wiped the bug blood from his sleeve before jumping back into the fight, only to feel that pain of a bug bite again.

"What the hell?" he groaned and smooshed a few more bugs.

He spoke into his comm, "A little help here, guys?"

"I'm a bit busy here at the moment," Clint replied while simultaneously jumping out of the way of an obstacle the villain they were currently fighting had thrown.

"Kinda occupied," Natasha apologized.

Scott hissed again as he was bitten yet another time.

The Falcon then swooped down and landed beside the Ant-Man. "What's the issue here, TicTac?" the younger man asked.

"Fucking bugs keep – _ow!_ – keep biting me!" Scott hissed and flicked another insect from his shoulder.

"I'm gonna knock 'em off of you, okay?" Sam said, and Scott nodded. While the other heroes were fighting the villain, Sam and Scott were awkwardly dusting the bugs off of Scott's suit. Once they were all off, Scott thanked the other man and then shrunk and went after the villain.

Sam sighed and flew off again.

***

"Great job, everyone! That was fun, minus the fact I kept getting bitten," Scott exclaimed as the group of heroes made their way back to the compound to wash up and rest.

Afterward everyone was lounging in the living room, the television on and a bag of chips was being passed around.

"I'm so exhausted," Tony Stark groaned before shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. He passed the bag along to someone else.

"Ditto," Clint said from the back of the couch, where he was currently laying with his legs on Natasha's lap seeing as she was sitting on the back of the couch with a leg on either side of Bruce Banner.

Scott accepted the bag of chips from Peter Parker with a thank you.

The group just lounged around for a little while longer before they all began to gradually disperse and go to their rooms and homes.

Scott dozed off in his own bed in his home, but he did not sleep that long. Around ten o'clock, he bolted upright, wide awake.

And he put on the Ant-Man suit and headed out...


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Scott did not wake up until he felt someone shaking him. He groaned and swatted at the person.

"Scott," said the person. They were female... "Scott you've gotta wake up. It's your time with Cassie."

There was a shift in the bed as a weight was added near Scott's bare feet.

"Buddy, come on. It's almost noon," the person—a man—said.

Scott mumbled something and the woman frowned.

"Scott come _on_. Cassie's downstairs and waiting for you," she said. "You _promised_ her you'd take her with you to work tomorrow and it's your time with her. Get up."

Scott groaned and sat up. "Fine, fine. I'm up." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "It's too early."

"Scott, it's _noon_. It's late!" the man argued.

Scott huffed and opened his eyes. He looked at the two. For a moment, he did not recognize them. Then the memories resurfaced:

Marriage

A little girl was born

Arrest

Anger

Divorce

She got remarried

Release from San Quentin

Child support...

Friendship.

Maggie and Jim Paxton. His ex-wife and her new husband. His _friends_.

"Sorry. Sorry," Scott said and groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Scott, are you feeling okay?" Maggie asked. Scott nodded, though he really did not. How did he not recognize his own best friends?

"I'm sorry. I didn't sleep last night. Only, like, an hour," he explained.

"It's okay, Scott," Paxton said, patting Scott's knee.

"We can take Cassie for an extra day if you want," Maggie offered, running her fingers through Scott's hair. She frowned a little when he flinched at the contact from both her and Paxton. She gave her husband a look that said 'We'll need to talk later.' He nodded in response.

"Well, if you need anything just give us a call," Paxton said. "We'll come right over, so don't hesitate."

Scott nodded and got out of the bed, Maggie stepping back a bit. Paxton stood as well.

"You two want anything to eat or drink?" Scott offered as he stretched, his bones popping.

"No thanks," Maggie politely declined.

"I'm good," Paxton said, gently patting Scott's shoulder. "But thanks, Buddy."

Scott nodded, then the three headed downstairs where Cassie was watching cartoons on the television. She looked up excitedly when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and jumped up and ran over.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed and nearly knocked over her dad when she hugged him. Scott stared down at the little brown haired girl squeezing his middle like her life depended on it. He didn't recognize her...

When he did not return her hug, Cassie let him go and stepped back to look up at him.

"Daddy?" she asked. She sounded worried and confused at the same time. Then it clicked in Scott's mind. This was his daughter, Cassie. He calls her Peanut.

"Sorry, Peanut," he said, and crouched in front of her. "I'm just really tired right now. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Make sure your daddy takes care of himself, okay Cassie?" Maggie said to her daughter, who nodded quickly.

"Well, we'll get out of your hair then," Paxton said. "We'll see you later Scott."

With that, and a few hugs and I love yous, Maggie and Paxton left.

***

Cassie and her dad spent the day just hanging out and watching movies and eating junk food. Cassie noticed that Scott's appetite had seemed to grow and that he seemed to be staring off into the distance a lot, almost as though his mind was somewhere else.

"Daddy?" Cassie said after taking a bite out of her third doughnut. "Did Hope break up with you?"

Scott snapped out of his daze and looked at Cassie. Hope... Hope... Who was Hope again? Oh, right. His badass girlfriend and partner! Had she broken up with him? No. No she had not. They were still going strong.

He shook his head. "No. No," he said. "We're still together. Unless she's planning on breaking up with me soon. Oh God, I hope not."

Cassie grinned at her dad. "I'm glad you are still dating her. I like her."

"And she likes you too, Peanut," Scott grinned back before biting into another doughnut.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I am, Peanut," the man assured. "Just tired and stressed. We took out a very bad guy yesterday."

"Did you get hurt?" Cassie asked, worried.

Scott shrugged. "I was bitten a few thousand times. By his minion beetles. Hurt a lot."

"Did you kill them?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah. The Falcon helped me."

"Cool!" Cassie beamed. "You know a lot of superheroes. You're lucky."

"Hey, you know a lot of superheroes too," Scott said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You."

"And Hope. And Paxton."

"Paxton's a superhero?" the girl was confused.

"Yeah. He saves lives and locks up bad guys every single day. More bad guys than me."

"I never thought of it that way..."

"Well, now you know."

***

That night, after Cassie was asleep in her room, Scott put the suit on again. He headed out and, well... things were _not_ pretty...

***

Around three in the morning, Scott returned home. He had a few cuts and bruises but he ignored the stings from them.

He headed into the bathroom to clean up the wounds and try to find ways to hide them from Cassie.

***

Hours later, he was tired. Day light was slowly beginning to pool through the windows and he could hear his daughter stirring in her bed in her room. His mind told him he needed to head to bed, that it was bedtime, but his body told him that it was daytime and that it was time to be awake and spend time with his daughter.

He decided to obey his body for now, but later he would listen to his brain.

He headed into the kitchen and decided to start making breakfast.

A little while later, Cassie shuffled into the room and climbed up onto a stool beside her father.

"Good morning, Peanut," Scott greeted her.

"Morning, Daddy," the little girl greeted back. "I'm still sleepy..."

"Me too," he said. "Why didn't you sleep for a little longer?"

"I woke up and couldn't go back."

He nodded. He understood that.

He glanced over at her and saw how innocent she looked. She had no idea what a mysterious voice in his head was saying...

_You could kill her right now and use the suit to get away and no one would know it was you._

He panicked upon hearing the voice, dropping what he had been holding, bowl shattering on the floor.

"Daddy!" Cassie cried out. She hopped down off the stool and ran to find a broom.

Scott stared after her.

What was _wrong_ with him? Imagining murdering his own daughter, of whom he loves with his entire being.

He stepped away from the broken bowl and watched as his little girl ran back over and began sweeping. He felt helpless as she cleaned up the mess he had made.

After disposing of the pieces, Cassie looked at her dad. She looked worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Scott did not say anything. He just stared at the floor.

Cassie started to step to him, but he held out his hands quickly and stepped away.

"No! Cassie, stay back," he said.

"Daddy what's wrong?"

"Stay away, Cassie. I don't wanna hurt you!"

"Hurt me?" Cassie repeated, freezing in place. "Why would you hurt me?"

"Please, Peanut. I don't know what's going on. Just– just stay there. Don't move."

 _Just do it_ , the voice said. _She's right there. You'll feel the rush. Just go on._

Scott shook his head. He could not do that to his little girl. Be bit his lip and tried to think of something. Cassie was staring at him, looking terrified. He then thought of the only thing that seemed logical. He grabbed his phone, dialed Paxton's number, put the phone on loud speaker, and ran out of the house, leaving the phone and Cassie in the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Scott? Hello?"_ Paxton's voice called through the phone. _"You okay buddy? Is Cassie okay?"_

Cassie quickly grabbed the phone. "Paxton!" she cried. "Daddy ran away! He told me to stay here and he called you before he left. I'm scared."

 _"Cassie?"_ Maggie's voice rang through the phone. _"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"_

"I'm okay. Daddy broke a bowl. I helped him clean it up."

 _"Do you know where he is right now?"_ Paxton asked. His voice was a little soft, as though he were away from the phone.

"No. He ran out of the house," Cassie replied. She tried to sound calm, but her nervous shone through.

 _"You're still at the house, right?"_ Maggie asked, voice more frantic.

"Yeah. I didn't want to move. Daddy told me to stay where I am and that he didn't want to hurt me..."

 _"What do you mean by that?"_ Maggie was in a full-on panic now.

"He told me to stay back and that he doesn't want to hurt me. I got scared so I stayed where I was. Then he ran off." Cassie sniffled a little. "Mommy... I think something's wrong with Daddy."

 _"Cassie, sweetie. Stay where you are. Paxton's on his way to get you,"_ Maggie said. _"Remember what I told you. Daddy just gets confused sometimes."_

"But Daddy isn't confused this time!" Cassie said. "I know he isn't! Something's wrong with him I can feel it!"

_"Cassie, I know you love your daddy—Paxton and I do, too—but he is just a very confused man. He's been through a lot and it's messed with his mind."_

"Mommy–"

_"Cassandra Lang!"_

Cassie did not say anything further.

Paxton soon pulled up in the driveway, quite fast, and ran inside. He slowed a bit when he saw the door was wide open. He called out for Cassie and she yelled back.

Paxton hurried into the room and sighed in relief when he saw that she was fine, clutching onto her father's phone as if it were her life force. Paxton scooped her up into his arms and held her close. He felt his heart break as Cassie began to cry. He rubbed circles on her back and sighed.

"It's okay, Cassie. It's okay," he muttered to her. "We'll did your daddy and we'll get him some help."

"Something– something's wrong with him!" Cassie exclaimed, pulling away from him. "We have to help him!"

The phone rang in Cassie's hand. It was Paxton's contact showing on the screen. Paxton took the phone from the girl and answered it.

"Maggie, are you okay?" he asked.

_"Yeah I'm fine. Is Cassie?"_

"Yeah, she's fine. Just upset."

_"I know. She thinks something's wrong with him, but I think he's just confused. Something to do with those chemicals he works with to be a superhero, maybe."_

"You might be right."

"Daddy isn't confused!" Cassie exclaimed. "Something's wrong! I know there is!"

"Cassie," Paxton said sternly. "We're going to find help for your daddy."

***

Scott found himself at Hope van Dyne's front door. How he got there, he cannot remember. He looked around and saw no car that belonged to him, so he concluded he either got here by bus or on foot.

The front door opened and Hope suddenly looked worried once she saw who it was. "Scott," she said, then stepped out of the way and let him in.

Scott soon found himself lying on Hope's couch, Hope pacing on the carpet in front of him.

"Let me get this straight," the Wasp said. "You get home from helping the Avengers fight a bad guy with, as you called them, minion beetles who bite. You find yourself unable to sleep at night, and you're hearing a voice that's telling you to kill your daughter."

Scott nodded. "Yeah. That's what I said."

"And you came to me for help."

"You're the smartest person I know who can put up with me. Who else would I go to?"

"Oh, I don't know... your buddy Cap?"

"Will you let that go?" Scott whined.

Hope sighed and shook her head. She continued to pace.

"Did you notice anything strange about the bugs?" she asked.

"Yeah. They only came after _me_!" Scott yelled, throwing his hands up.

"Anything other than that?" Hope asked in an exasperated tone.

"Their bites stung."

"That's typical in bug bites."

"This stung like it was poisoned or something..."

"You think you were poisoned?" Hope tilted her head in confusion and intrigue.

"Why else would I be feeling this way?" Scott asked, looking up at her.

"Scott, I'm sure you weren't poisoned. Something else must have happened."

Hope walked over and moved Scott's legs so she could sit. She moved them back onto her lap and sighed.

"What's wrong with me, Hope?" Scott asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know, Scott," Hope replied in a soft voice, a little under a whisper. "But we'll find out. I promise. But for right now, you need to stay away from Cassie."

"You're right," he said in a sad tone. "We can't risk me hurting her."

"It was right of you to get away from her."

"I feel bad, though. I just ran, leaving her in the kitchen by herself."

"But you called her mom and stepdad. I'm sure they went to get her."

"They probably hate me again..."

Hope sighed and patted Scott's leg.

"You can stay here tonight, okay?" she said, and he nodded.

"But I don't have any clothes... or the suit."

"I'll drive you over to get them. Come on." She pushed his legs off of her lap and stood up. She looked down at the man and frowned. "Scott, get up."

"I am, I am," Scott said. He continued to lie there.

"Scott, what the hell are you doing?" Hope asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm getting up," Scott said. "Why? What does it look like I'm doing."

Hope sighed and grabbed his arms and heaved him up with a groan.

On the drive to Scott's place, Hope suggested calling Maggie and Paxton to let them know he was okay and where he was going to be.

"No," was Scott's answer. "I can't call them. Not after what I did to Cassie."

"Scott, you didn't do anything wrong!" Hope assured.

"But I left my daughter there."

Hope slammed on the brakes and turned to the man.

"I don't want to hear one more word about that from you, okay? You did the right thing by leaving her there. You called her stepfather and mother and then you left. You called a cop whose good side you're on. You put Cassie out of a line of danger by doing that."

Scott just looked down and did not say anything.

Hope sighed and turned back to the road as people behind them started honking their horns. She eased off the brake and started driving again.

***

The car came to a stop in the driveway of Scott's house.

"We're here?" Scott said, and looked up.

"Yeah," Hope said. She cut the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Come on. Let's get your stuff."

Scott nodded and got out of the car. He trudged up to the front door and tried the knob. Paxton must have picked up Cassie and locked the door behind him. He felt his pockets and did not feel his keys.

"Shit..." he muttered.

"Are you locked out?" Hope asked, and Scott nodded. Then he slammed his side against the door.

"Scott," Hope said.

Then he did it again.

"Scott!" Hope yelled. "Stop!"

"Woo and his agents got in this way, why can't I?" Scott grunted and held his shoulder, which now hurt a lot.

"They didn't do it like that," Hope explained.

"Then show me how to do it properly," Scott spat.

"First of all," Hope yelled at her boyfriend, "don't you _dare_ talk to me in that way! Second of all–" She swung around and kicked the door open. "You do it like _that_."

Scott's eyes widened and he stared at the door. "Wow. That was– that was hot."

Hope rolled her eyes and walked inside, Scott following close behind.

***

A little while later, Hope was waiting by the broken-in door for Scott. She had two bags of his things. She heard footsteps behind her and turned. "Oh thank God, finally," she said. Then she saw what he was wearing.

"Why're you wearing the suit? Take that off," she said.

Scott did not move.

"Scott," Hope said sternly. "Take off the suit!"

"No," Scott said. Then he lifted his hand, thumb hovering over the button that allowed him to grow and shrink.

"Scott, no. Don't you dare," Hope said.

Scott grinned behind the mask.

 _This is going to be fun_ , the voice in his head said.

Then Scott pressed the button and lunged at Hope.


	4. Chapter 4

Hope kicked at the Ant-Man, sending him flying back. She ran out the door and slammed it behind her, then made a mad dash to her car.

Scott pressed the button on his glove to make himself grow back to his natural height and groaned, pressing the button that retracted his mask and he groaned.

 _What just happened?_ he thought. He looked around for Hope, and didn't see her. _Oh fuck,_ he thought. _Did I just try to kill her?_

He sat up and held his aching head. When did he change into the suit?

He swore aloud.

He got up with a groan and made his way to the door and opened it, stepping out and seeing that Hope was standing on the front lawn in her Wasp suit. She clenched her hands into fists and he quickly held his hands up and shrunk into himself like a scared child.

"Please don't hurt me!" Scott begged the woman. "I don't know what going on, I don't know what happened! I'm going insane!"

Hope eased her nerves and retracted her own helmet and ran to her boyfriend, pulling him close. She felt his starting to shake against her and heard his breathing starting to hitch. She ran the fingers of one hand through his hair, and rubbed gentle circles on his back with her other hand.

"Scott... Scott it's okay," Hope said in a gentle voice. "We'll find out what's going on. We'll get you help. I promise."

She felt Scott's arms wrap around her and she pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. They stayed like that for a long moment before Scott pulled away. He wiped at his eyes before chuckling sadly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "This is all happening way too fast and we have no idea what _'this'_ is."

"You'll get through this. I'm not going to let you out of my sight," Hope said. "Not until we fix whatever's going on."

***

Hope fell asleep in her bed while Scott lay wide away beside her. He looked down at her sleeping figure and smiled a little. She looked so peaceful...

His whole body suddenly twitched–

He sat up, pressed a gentle kiss to Hope's cheek, then got out of the bed.

He went over to one of his bags and hunted out the suit. He changed into it and headed out.

***

The next morning, Hope found Scott asleep beside her. Just the way he had been when she had fallen asleep. Only... he was wearing the suit.

She shook him violently. "Scott," she said. She continued to shake him. "Scott. Wake up dammit!"

All the man did was mumble nonsense and roll onto his side. Hope groaned in frustration and grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it with all the force she could.

He yelled and shielded his face with his hands. "What the hell?" he screamed.

"Why the fuck are you in the suit?" Hope shouted.

"I don't know!" Scott yelled. "Why are we yelling?"

"Where did you go last night?" Hope asked, trying to keep from screaming at him.

"I'm not sure! I don't remember getting up."

"Are you sleep walking?"

"I'm... I don't think so. I don't remember even going to sleep."

Hope frowned. "We may have to call Hank," she said.

"No! No. I don't want to cut into his time with Janet. That wouldn't be right."

"But he might be able to help!"

Scott did not say anything. He just lied there, lowering his hands from his face.

Hope gasped. "Scott. No.... No no no no no..." she whispered.

"What did I do now?" said man asked, glancing up at her.

"Your face... you're cut and bruised..."

"Oh..."

That was when one of Scott's burner phones rang from within a bag. Hope looked over and went over to dig through the bag the noise was coming from. Scott sat up and watched her.

Hope found the device and answered it. "Who is this?" she asked.

 _"Where's Lang?"_ a man on the other end asked, voice bitter and angry.

"Who's asking?"

_"Tony Stark. He hurt my intern and I need answers."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was short, but I felt like that was a good place to end the chapter. Suspenssssssseeee


	5. Chapter 5

Hope stared right at Scott with a big, angry frown. The expression made him feel really unsettled.

"He did what?" Hope spoke into the phone.

 _"He hurt my intern. I need answers now,"_ Stark repeated.

"You're in New York, right?" Hope asked.

_"Yeah. Why?"_

"We'll see you soon." Then she hung up on the billionaire.

"Who was that?" Scott asked worriedly. "What did I do?"

"That was Iron Man," Hope said slowly, making her way back over to the man. "He claims you hurt his intern?"

"His intern?" Scott repeated. "I hurt Peter?" He covered his face again, muttering a repeated 'no no no no no...'

"How old is his intern?" Hope asked curiously. "The way you're acting, it makes it seem like they're a child."

"Because he is a child!" Scott exclaimed, losing his hands. "He's sixteen!"

"He's sixteen and he's interning for Stark?"

"He's also Spider-Man! I kicked him in the face—quite literally—in Germany before I knew he was a kid."

"Oh my God... Scott, you could be arrested again if Stark tells the feds."

"How would I be able to hurt Peter anyway?" Scott wondered aloud. "He's all the way in... Oh my God." He flopped onto his back with a groan. "I must be traveling as well."

"Well, you're traveling again. "Get your stuff. We're going to New York."

"We are?"

"Yeah. Because you've got to explain to Stark what's going on or he may murder you. He sounded very upset."

"Okay, okay."

***

Scott and Hope arrived in New York hours later. And they eventually found themselves outside of Avengers Tower. They were buzzed in and Tony Stark was standing in the entryway, arms crossed and his eyes blazing with anger.

" _Lang_ ," the Iron Man said.

" _Stark_ ," Scott said. "Look I don't–"

"You have a lot of explaining to do! And I don't want a bullshit excuse!"

"I thought he'd be taller," Hope whispered to the ex-con at her side.

"He's an inch shorter than me," Scott said.

"Still."

Tony still looked infuriated. "Stop talking about my height! He needs to explain to me why he hurt Peter!"

"I don't know why I did it!" Scott said. "I don't even remember doing it!"

" _Bullshit_ ," Tony claimed.

"It's true! I- I don't know what's happening..." Scott looked at Stark with wide, terrified eyes. "I need help..." he whispered.

Tony's expression turned to one of determination and he turned. "Come," he said, and started toward the elevators.

Scott and Hope looked at each other before they followed the man.

The three stepped into the elevator and Stark pressed a button. The lift began to rise and eventually stopped on the designated floor. The doors opened and there was a flustered and bruised Peter Parker on the other side.

As soon as the doors opened to reveal Stark to Peter, the teenager began talking:

"Mr. Stark, I'm fine! Honest! He didn't even hurt me that badly! Besides, my healing abilities have amped up since the spider bite!"

"Kid, stop talking for two seconds, please," Stark cut in as he stepped out of the elevator. "He's right here."

Peter looked at the Ant-Man, who was standing beside a woman he could only guess was the girlfriend his friend had been going on and on about.

"Hey, Peter," Scott said, chuckling nervously.

"Mr. Lang!" Peter replied.

"Look, Pete, I have no idea what I– Did I do that?" Scott pointed at Peter's beaten and battered face.

"Uh... yeah... But _don't_ worry! It's healing! I heal _fast_ ," the teenager assured the man.

"I'm so sorry," the Ant-Man said. "I didn't know I'd done anything until Stark called and- and a lot of weird stuff has been happening and– Oh my God. First Cassie and now Peter?"

"Cassie? What happened to Cassie?" Peter asked. The terror was evident in his voice.

"Nothing. Nothing yet," Scott said. His hands were gripping his hair. "A- A voice.... there's a- there's a voice...."

Peter grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the couch in the lounge. "Sit down and explain it all," he said.

"Kid, you're letting the guy who _beat the shit out of you_ last night come to you with his problems?" Stark asked.

"He's my friend, Mr. Stark! Something is happening and I wanna help him!" the kid yelled back.

Stark ran his hand over his face and groaned. "Fine! Hear his sob story. I'm making coffee." With that, he trudged into the kitchen.

The Spider-Man turned back to Scott and looked at him expectantly, tired eyes wide.

"Well...?" he said.

"Oh, right. Uh... There's this- there's this voice in my... in my head and it keeps telling me to..." Scott choked a bit on the words. "It keeps telling me to... to kill Cassie..."

Peter was silent for a long moment, then he just fell onto his back on the floor.

Hope stared at the kid with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Scott shook his head. "I've learned not to ask when he does stuff like this."

"We need to find out what started all of this," Peter said from the floor.

"Easy: The bugs I was fighting by myself while the rest of you took on the actual bad guy," Scott said coldly.

"Second, when did you first start showing symptoms?"

"I... I'm not entirely sure," Scott admitted. "Maybe that night? Or the following morning?"

"Okay, what exactly is asking questions going to do?" Hope cut into the conversation.

Peter looked up at her. "Mr. Lang, your girlfriend is really pretty."

"I know, right," Scott beamed.

Hope shot her boyfriend a look. "Not an appropriate moment for that."

"Sorry," he muttered and leaned back.

"Okay, sorry," Peter said. "Uh. I'm trying to diagnose him!" He smiled innocently at Hope. Then he looked back up at the ceiling.

"What do you think happened to make you be like this?" he asked.

"I think it was those bugs that bit me," Scott replied. "I think they were poisoned or intoxicated or something."

"That could be it," Peter said, sitting up. "Makes sense."

"I think it might just be the Pym Particle and Quantum atmosphere messing with your mind, Scott," Hope said.

"Hope, you're _wrong_ ," said Scott.

"No, I'm _not_." Hope narrowed her eyes at Scott, and that shut him up real quick.

"We can ask Mister Dr. Banner to run tests," Peter suggested.

"We don't need him to be tested," Hope said. "We just need to contact my dad and everything will be fine."

"Then why did we come here?" Scott asked, voice gradually raising.

"Because Stark said you hurt his intern!"

"I'm not really that hurt," Peter assured. "Just a little roughed up."

Scott whirled around to face the teenage vigilante. "But I attacked you!"

"Not _that_ badly!" Peter exclaimed.

"I could've _killed_ you!"

"But you _didn't_!"

"But I could have," Scott said. "And if I had, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Then be glad you didn't!"

Scott groaned in frustration and flopped onto his side oh the couch.

***

Hope and Scott decided to just stay the night with the Avengers since it would not really be much use to go to New York just to turn back around and go back to San Francisco.

Scott could not go to sleep, so he got up and went to the kitchen. He was about to put on some water for tea when he noticed a cup of tea already sitting there.

"I heard you getting up, so I poured you some," said a voice behind him.

He turned around and saw a figure sitting at the counter. Wanda. He smiled a little.

"Thanks," he said, and picked up the cup. He went over and sat beside her.

"Why aren't you asleep?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Wanda retorted.

"Touché," Scott said with a smile and raised his cup. He took a sip of the tea, pinky out; just the way Cassie taught him.

After a long moment of silence, Wanda spoke up: "I heard Tony and Peter talking about what is going on with you."

"You did?" the man asked, looking at the countertop.

"Yes," Wanda said in an apologetic tone. "I am so sorry this is happening."

"It's not your fault," Scott assured her. "Hope thinks it's just the Pym Particles and Quantum crap messing with me. But I think it has something to do with those bugs at the fight."

"Bugs? What bugs?" the girl asked.

"The bugs from the fight," Scott repeated his past statement. "They came after me, and only me. I asked everyone for help. No one helped me until Sam swooped in—quite literally—at the last moment."

"I'm so sorry!" Wanda turned to face him. "My comm messed up and I could not talk to anyone unless they were within yelling distance."

"It wasn't your fault," Scott assured.

The two sat in silence, just drinking their tea.

After a long moment, Scott set down his cup with a _clank!_ that startled the eighteen year old beside him. He turned to her slowly. His eyes looked glazed over.

"Scott?" Wanda said slowly. "What is wrong? Are you–" she was cut off by Scott's hands encircling her throat. He stood, and lifted her up. She grabbed at his arms, struggling as she was held above the ground.

" _Scott_ -" she choked out. She choked and wheezed as his grip tightened.

She finally managed to muster up some of her power and used it to get the man off her. As his hands disappeared, she fell to the floor. She coughed and breathed.

She watched in panic and started to scoot away as he got back to his feet and made his way back to her.

Then they started to fight.

Wanda hated having to use her powers on the man who had become a sort of father figure to her since after they had broken out of the RAFT—alongside Clint Barton—but something was wrong with him and he was _fighting her_.

What the hell is happening to him?

She managed to get a blazing ball of energy to hit him just right and it sent him flying back, unconscious.

She had some major bruises and cuts from his scratching and punching and kicking. All over her arms and chest and neck and face. Her ribs were in more pain than any other part of her. They may be broken. She was in a worse state than Peter had been.

She stayed where she was, almost to the doorway as she stared at the unconscious man. Tears welled up and threatened to spill as her mind replayed what had just happened.

_One of her father figures had just tried to kill her..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanda's the friend that's mentioned in the summary of this book.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope admits she's wrong.
> 
> Clint comforts Wanda.
> 
> Hope calls a friend for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of my wives is introduced.

When Scott woke up, he had no idea where he was. He tried to sit up, but found he was unable to. He panicked and continued to try and get up, but to no avail.

"Hey! Hey! Who's there? Can someone help me out here?" he called out. He waited a few moments before trying to get free again, tugging and straining against his binds while screaming for someone—anyone—to set him free. "Let me out! Let me out!" He was struggling so much, the bed he was strapped to was shaking and creaking.

Outside of the room was where the others were, watching all of this from surveillance video. Hope had a hand over her mouth as she watched her boyfriend.

"Can't we let him–" young Peter Parker started to say, but many of the others told him "NO!"

Hope turned to look at Dr. Bruce Banner. "Have the tests and scans come back yet?" she asked.

The man nodded. "Yes," he said, and pulled up a bunch of documents and x-rays and such.

"The tests I ran show that there are, indeed, toxins in his system."

Hope closed her eyes and mumbled against her hand, "I was wrong..."

Tony Stark was leaning against the wall, in the corner. Wanda was sitting on the floor, staring straight ahead. Clint walked over and sat beside her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Wanda looked up at him and began to cry. She leaned into his side and he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's okay, it's okay," he whispered to her. He ran his hand over her hair gently and pressed a light kiss to her head. "It's okay," he whispered again.

"He hurt me, Clint," Wanda muttered against the man's shoulder.

"I know," Clint mumbled against her hair. "He won't hurt you anymore."

Hope looked at Bruce. "Was he right about it being from the bugs?" she asked. She was trying to ignore Scott's screaming coming from the room; it pained her to not help him.

"I really think it was the bugs," Peter piped up.

"We can't know for sure unless we get one of them and test it," Bruce said.

"Alright. Wilson, come on. You go," Tony spoke from his corner.

Sam looked up from the monitor that was showing Scott, and looked at Tony. "What do you mean 'come on'?" he asked. "I'm not going back to that place just for bugs. I hate bugs."

"You like Scott though," Natasha said from beside the door that led into the room Scott was currently inhabiting. "He's your friend."

"Yeah but..." Sam looked at the others. They were all giving him hopeful looks. "I'm not going unless someone goes with me."

"I think I know someone who could go and not get bitten..." Hope said.

"Who?" everyone asked in unison.

***

Ava Starr arrived in a helicopter Tony had sent out for her. She stepped out onto the platform, a duffle-bag slung over her shoulder.

Hope and Sam were the ones to meet her there.

"Ava, hi," Hope smiled at the girl and greeted her with a hug. They had made up after everything that had happened before and during the return of Janet van Dyne and were now very close friends.

"Hey Hope," Ava said as she returned the hug. After they pulled away from each other, she gave the other woman an empathetic look. "I'm so sorry to hear about Scott. Is he still not doing well?"

Hope shook her head and blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes. "No. He's... he's like an animal, actually."

"Oh, Hope." Ava gave her another hug, this one tighter. "I will do whatever I can to make sure he gets better."

"Thank you," Hope whispered. They pulled away from each other again and Sam cut in.

"Ava Starr," he said. "I'm Sam Wilson. Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand to her.

The Ghost smiled politely and shook his hand. "You too."

"Hope told you what we're doing, correct?"

"Yes, she did. Kind of a silly, little task by the sound of it. But anything for one of the people who helped me."

Hope placed a hand on Ava's shoulder. "You should probably go suit up. You two are leaving in half an hour."

Ava nodded and Sam and Hope led her into the building.


	7. Chapter 7

Ava and Sam arrived at the place the fight had initially taken place. Ava removed the mask of her suit and looked around. (When she had stepped out in it, it had very much terrified Sam. He had not been expecting it.) (Janet had helped update the suit so no one knew that Ava was the one who had rampaged through San Francisco that time, but it was still a pretty scary suit.)

"This is it?" she asked, and looked over at Sam. Sam nodded.

"Yep," he confirmed. "This is where it happened."

They stood there for a moment. Nothing happened.

"Where are those damn creepy crawlies?" the man mumbled, scanning the area with his goggles.

Ava pointed to a building nearby. "Perhaps in there?" she guessed. Sam shrugged and sprouted his wings and took off in that direction. Ava took off running.

With the help of Janet, Ava learned how to control her phasing and can now phase at will. When she an Sam arrived at the building, Ava made herself phase and peeked into the building, checking to see if the coast was clear or not.

Sam yelped when he saw her do that. "Holy crap!"

Ava stopped and turned to him. "Shh!" she hissed. "They're in there. In a pile."

"Shit..." Sam muttered.

"No. That's good. We can get to them," Ava replied.

"I'll stay guard out here," the man said.

Ava smacked his arm. "Right, and send me in by myself," she muttered. "I'll be back." Then she headed into the building, phasing so she could pass through the metal wall.

That still irked Sam.

A few moments passed, and then Sam heard a crash from inside. He then tried to find a way in, but to no avail. The door was locked and there were no windows he could break through. He was about to simply chuck himself at the metal door—which resembled a garage door—when Ava phased through the door, hands clasped around something.

She glared at Sam.

"Thanks for the help," she said sarcastically.

"Not all of us can teleport through solid objects," Sam retorted.

"It's called _phasing_."

"Whatever." Then he noticed she was holding something. "Did you get it."

"Yes. Now let's go."

***

"So, is it the cause?" Ava asked Bruce as she peered over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure yet," Bruce said. This was about the hundredth time he had had to say that. Everyone kept pressuring him.

"And if you people don't stop asking, I'm going to go Hulk on all of you!" he added, clearly annoyed.

Ava backed up without having to be told a second time.

Scott had stopped screaming a while ago, but it seemed as though no one had noticed.

That is... until Natasha spoke up:

"Hey, does anyone hear Scott?"

Everyone went silent. No one heard him.

"Maybe he got tired and just went to sleep?" Peter piped up, though he did not sound too sure.

Hope ran over to the door of the room and peered inside. Scott was gone.

"He's not there," she announced.

"What do you mean 'he's not there'?" Clint asked.

"She means he's _gone_!" Ava exclaimed, suddenly beside Hope.

"Shit!" Tony yelled and ran over to the others.

"FRIDAY!" he shouted. "Where is Lang's current location?"

"I detect he is still in the building, boss," the AI replied.

"Great! Where in the building?" Tony asked.

"He is–" the AI cut off. There was a moment of silence.

"Fri?" Tony spoke up. "Fri, what's going on?"

More silence.

Ava was the first to speak. "Didn't Scott say something about having a degree in electrical engineering?"

"Shit," Hope muttered.

"You're saying he took out my AI?" Tony screeched.

"Quite possibly," Hope said.

"I'm gonna kill him," Tony growled.

"You're not laying a fucking finger on him, so help me!" Hope yelled.

"Guys!" Bruce called over the shouting.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I got the results back," the man said.

"And?" Wanda spoke up.

"It's a match... it's the same toxin that in Scott's system."

"Oh my God," Hope covered her face with her hands. "Oh my God."

"We need to get to him," Peter said.

"We don't know where he is," Bruce reminded.

"We split up, then," Peter said. "Two and two."

"Okay. That sounds sensible," Tony said. "Peter, call your aunt. We could use her help. She's a headstrong lady."

Peter nodded and got out his phone, knowing Tony was right. If anyone could handle a crazed super hero, it was Aunt May. Kind of a long story involving Metahumans...

"Okay, Pete, you stay here until May gets here. You're gonna team up with her. I'll go with Banner."

"I'll go with Ava," Hope said.

"I will be with Miss Maximoff," Vision said his first words since everything started.

"Then that leaves me, Nat, and Sam," Clint said.

"I so wish we had Rhodey right now," Natasha mumbled.

***

Everyone was suited up and May had arrived faster than they had thought.

They had split up and were now searching the tower for Scott.

***

Scott heard rushing footsteps coming down the hall, and he slipped into a room silently. That was how he found his suit again. He grinned quite menacingly and changed into it.

As he was about to slip the helmet on, he heard the footsteps stop outside the room. He paused his actions, and the door opened. And in stepped Clint. Both men stared at each other.

"Hey, _Clinton_ ," Scott sneered.

Clint reached back to grab an arrow from his quiver, but Scott had put on the helmet and shrunk.

Clint dropped his arm quickly, and looked around. "Shit!" he swore, and ran out of the room.

"I lost him!" he shouted at Natasha and Sam.

"I got eyes on him!" Sam announced and ran past Clint.

Natasha ran after him.

"Where is he?" she called to Sam.

Sam came to a halt and grabbed Nat's arm.

Scott shot to his natural height and was facing the two.

Clint came up beside his team and glowered at Scott.

"Scott, stop this right now," Natasha said in a deathly calm voice.

"I'd rather not," Scott said, and then shrunk again.

"Fuck!" Clint exclaimed, then was knocked down. He was then dragged back a bit, then flung down the hall.

Sam aimed a blaster at him, then was met with a fist. Scott grew to his normal height, threw a few punches, used a few moves Hope had taught him, then shrunk again. Sam was then met with his pack malfunctioning. Just like last time. His goggles messed up as well.

Then all of his equipment—except for the comm in his ear—died on him.

Now it was Natasha's turn. Scott grew in front of her and swung a fist. Natasha blocked it and kicked at him. Scott countered the kick with one of his own and he shrank and grew and shrank and grew all throughout the fight.

Mid-growth, however, Natasha kicked him and sent him flying down the hall.

He lay there for a long moment. Natasha began to make her way to him, but he jumped up and went off running away.


	8. Chapter 8

Vision and Wanda heard a commotion from down the hall and Wanda began to go in that direction, but the Vision stopped her.

"Footsteps," he said, "coming this way."

Wanda looked up at him, then nodded. She stepped back then froze. Scott had rounded the corner and was staring the couple down.

"Scott..." Wanda said. She clenched her hand.

"Hey again, Wanda," Scott grinned at her. Then he looked at Vision. "Vision."

"Mr. Lang," Vision began. "You must stop what you are doing and come with us."

"No thanks!" Scott shook his helmeted head. "I don't want to."

"Scott, please!" Wanda begged. "We're worried about you!"

"What's there to worry about?" Scott asked, taking a few steps toward the girl.

"You are not yourself," Vision explained.

"What do you mean?" Scott stopped his walking, then gestured to his whole self. "This _is_ me!"

" _No_ it's not!" Wanda cried. "The real Scott Lang would never hurt his friends! It's the toxins messing with your mind!"

Scott scoffed and shook his head. Then Vision noticed Scott's thumb hovering over the button on his glove.

He shot a beam from the stone in his forehead, aiming right in front of Scott.

"Vis!" Wanda shouted.

"He was going to shrink!" Vision explained himself.

Scott then shrunk.

"No!" Vision cried, then collapsed. Scott re-grew, crouched over Vision's body. Then he jerked his head around to look at Wanda, gaze narrowed threateningly.

"You've turned into a _monster_ , Scott!" Wanda choked out, a few tears trailing down her cheeks.

Scott stood straight and turned to her.

Wanda took on a fighting stance, red energy encircling her hands. "Scott, I don't want to hurt you," she said.

"That's okay. You're not going to get the chance to," Scott said, then shrank and bolted.

As soon as he rounded the corner, Vision recalibrated and rose.

"He temporarily shut me down," he said. Then he looked at Wanda in concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Wanda shook her head. "He's changed," she whispered, and clung onto Vision tightly.

***

Tony was muttering to himself in his suit. Bruce kept staring at him.

"I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna _fucking kill him_ ," Tony kept muttering.

"Then the Wasp will kill _you_ ," Bruce pointed out.

"I don't give a shit," Tony snapped. "Lang disabled Friday!"

"Then why're you in the suit?"

"Using it as a shield. For you. So you don't go Big Guy in my building."

"Gee, thanks."

Then they heard a fizzing sound—like the Ant-Man or Wasp helmets retracting—from outside the room. Tony, thinking it was Hope, hurried over and opened the door slightly. Then he saw that it was Scott and shut it quickly, trying to be as silent as possible.

He pressed his back against the door and stared right at Bruce.

"I know you're in there!" Scott's voice came from outside the door. "I heard you walking, Stark!"

"Shit..." Tony mumbled.

"Might as well open up so we can handle this like men. Bruce can join us!" Scott sounded way too enthusiastic about this.

"Open it," Bruce said. "You can take him while I try and disable his suit."

"You sure about this?" Tony asked.

Bruce nodded.

"I'm trusting you," Tony said, then pushed himself away from the door.

The knob turned and swung open, and Scott was standing there.

"You and me," Tony said to the man. "Leave Bruce out of this."

"Nah," Scott said, then lunged right at Bruce.

Tony grabbed at Scott, but the Ant-Man shrunk before he could.

"Fuck!" Tony screamed, and looked around for him. Then he was knocked down.

Bruce started to say something, but was knocked out by a hand to a pressure point in his neck.

Tony rolled over, his mask raising. He watched in horror as Bruce's unconscious body collapsed on the ground. Then his gaze rose to the man in red standing above him.

"Fuck you, Lang. I'm gonna _kill_ you!" Tony shouted.

Scott simply kicked Tony's helmet, waved, then left the room.

***

"May, I think I just heard Mr. Stark screaming..." Peter said to his aunt, tone terrified.

"It's okay, Peter," May assured her nephew. "I won't let him hurt you. I promise."

"May, I can handle myself!" Peter assured the woman. "I just wanna protect you!"

"Peter, I know you can," May said, hands on his shoulders so he could not turn away from her.

That was when the doorknob started jiggling. Peter ran over and pressed his weight against the door, in an attempt to keep it shut.

But the man on the other side was able to push it open just enough to be able to push his face in the opening.

Scott laughed maniacally and grinned. "I feel like I'm in The Shining!" he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that last line was a reference to another one of Paul Rudd's roles. I thought it suited the moment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aunt May is a fucking badass woman and I love her.

May frowned at the man at the door. She started to take a step toward him, but Peter shrieked. She turned just to see him jump up onto the ceiling. Beneath him, on the floor, were hundreds upon hundreds of Bullet Ants.

"What the hell?" May shouted.

All of the ants were under Peter, snapping up at him, as if threatening to pinch him if he so much as tried to escape.

May was fuming now, and Peter knew Scott was in for it.

Scott pushed the door the rest of the way open, just in time for May to reach for him and grab him by his nose.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Scott whined as May pulled him into the room by the nose.

"Call off the ants, _now_ Scott Lang!" May threatened.

"You're not the boss of me!" Scott shouted, his voice sort of nasally due to May having not let go yet.

"Get the damn bugs away from my nephew. _Now_!" May growled through clenched teeth. "Or I'll tear you apart _limb_ from _limb_."

"Let go of me fi–"

"No! You might try some shit."

"Fine! Fine!"

As a group, the ants moved away and Peter hesitated a moment before jumping to the ground.

May changed her grip so she was now holding Scott by his ear.

"Lead the way, Peter," the woman said. "He's not going anywhere."

Peter nodded and led his aunt and the toxic-Scott out of the room and to where the others were going to meet up. Back in the lab.

As they walked, Peter spoke into the comm in his ear to let the others know they had the man.

Minutes later, everyone but Tony and Bruce were back in the lab. May was still holding Scott by the ear, like an enraged and embarrassed mother about to discipline her child.

"Where are they?" Peter asked worriedly, referring to his mentor and the Doctor Banner.

"I'll go look for them," Natasha said. Before she could even step toward the door, it flung open and Tony dragged an unconscious Bruce Banner into the room.

"Oh my God!" Wanda cried. "What happened to him?"

"Well..." Scott started, but May twisted his ear and he whined, shutting up.

"That bastard knocked him out!" Tony yelled, pointing at Scott.

Bruce groaned, beginning to stir and regain consciousness. Everyone's eyes shot over to him, except Scott. He just rolled his eyes and glanced away. His ear felt like it was on fire.

***

The heroes got Scott out of the suit and back into regular clothes and had him locked up again. Hope and Ava were currently the ones watching him, keeping guard.

"Do you have any idea on how to fix him?" Clint asked Bruce as the scientist typed on a holographic computer.

"I'm working on it. I've never seen anything like this before," Bruce replied, shooting a quick glance over at the archer.

"Well hurry it up," Clint said. "I need my Dad Bro back."

"I know, I know! Don't rush me," Bruce said.

After a long moment, Bruce groaned and slammed his hands on the table. "I can't do it!" he exclaimed. "We need someone who knows bugs."

"Hope's parents?" Sam suggested.

"Aren't they on a date or something?" Tony asked.

"No. They're just staying isolated from everyone because Mr. Dr. Pym and Miss van Dyne were arrested and Mr. Lang helped them escape."

Everyone looked at Peter.

"How do you know all that?" Natasha asked.

"Mr. Lang's friend Mr. Alverez told me," Peter replied.

"Who's Mr. Alverez?" Sam asked.

"Mr. Lang's cellmate from prison! He has a lot of funny stories."

May looked at Peter. "Is he the one who broke into the apartment with Scott and that little girl that time after everyone returned from being turned into dust?"

Peter nodded. "Yep! And the little girl was Cassie, Mr. Lang's daughter."

"Scott broke into your apartment too?" Tony exclaimed.

"Yeah. Has many times whenever he's visiting New York," Peter nodded.

"Are we calling the Pym's or not?" Bruce cut in.

"I'll call them," Tony said, already pulling out his phone.

***

Later, Hank Pym and his wife Janet van Dyne were in the lab, helping Bruce come up with a cure for Scott's condition. They squabbled every now and then, but assured the others that that was the way they worked and got things done.

Hope had been a bit embarrassed when her parents had arrived, but they both assured her they were not disappointed or upset that she had not been able to cure Scott. Then it was all warm welcomes and hugs between the three and Ava. Ava had become somewhat of a second daughter to Janet.

All was going moderately okay as the three scientists worked, everyone else was sitting or standing around, looking from the security camera footage to each other to the scientists at work then back to the footage.

What felt like hours later, a commotion came from the room Scott, Hope, and Ava were in and there was suddenly shouting.

Everyone looked to the screen to see Ava holding Hope back from attacking a sneering and cackling Scott.

"We have to work faster," Janet said, and returned to work, Hank and Bruce joining back in as well.

Vision and Sam hurried into the room to help with Hope.

Peter stayed with May, Clint, Wanda, and Natasha.

Dear God, they needed to work faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Alverez is Luis. In the comics, Alverez is his last name and he has his own suit and is called the Tarantula. It's great.


	10. Chapter 10

It felt like hours until Scott finally grew tired of verbally tormenting everyone and dozed off. Everyone was relieved.

It was taking longer than they had planned to get the cure ready and made. They kept testing whatever they came up with on samples of the toxins from the bug Ava and Sam had brought back from the scene. The team was still alternating who was watching Scott.

They had agreed that Tony and Hope were no longer allowed to be in the same room as the man, seeing how Tony kept threatening to kill him and how Hope had nearly ripped Scott apart just moments ago.

"Nothing's working," Hank groaned. "I need a break."

"I think a break would be helpful right now," Janet agreed.

"I'll keep working," Bruce said. "I really want to get this done."

"Doctor Banner," Janet said in a kind, motherly voice. "You need to take a break right now, as well."

"Ms. van Dyne," Bruce tried to argue, but the woman gave him a stern look. He gave in and took a break.

Tony showed Hank to the kitchen, where the latter made tea. It was nice, Hope thought, to see her dad interacting so nicely with a Stark when he had always thought they were the scum of the earth after Howard and Hank's whole falling out.

***

Everyone came back from the brief break. Everything went back to the way it had been for a few more hours until a cheer came from the table the three scientists were crowded around.

"We've done it!" Janet exclaimed.

"You did? You came up with a cure?" Hope asked, eager, hopeful, and excited all at once.

"Oh, we finished this word search," Hank said, holding up a newspaper. Hope frowned angrily. "We also concocted a cure for your boyfriend," Hank added with a smug expression.

Hope hurried over and hugged her father and mother.

"Come on," Hope said, pulling back. "Let's save Scott. Again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn. This thing is almost over. Planning on only a few more chapters.


	11. Chapter 11

Scott awoke to a sharp sting in his arm and neck. He hissed at the pain and glanced over to see what it was. That was when he saw the hands.

He panicked and tried to pull away, but there was another set of hands holding him still.

"What is that?" Scott squeaked out. "What the hell is that?"

The person with the needles removed the needles and tossed them in the trash.

"Now we just wait and see if it helps him," the person said.

"What did you do? What was that?" Scott asked.

The people simply ignored him.

***

The cure was not kicking in fast enough.

"We may need to give him another dosage," Bruce suggested as he watched the monitor.

"We'll wait just a little longer," Janet said, "then we'll do that."

Bruce nodded.

On the monitor, everyone was watching Scott strain and struggle against his binds.

"He's going to bruise himself," Wanda said.

"He'll be fine," Natasha said, placing a caring hand on the girl's shoulder.

Wanda bit her lip and crossed her arms as she watched the man on the screen.

***

Scott continued to struggle against the bonds that held him down. He was feeling hot and cold at the same time.

He felt sick...

He looked down and tried to reach for his pocket. His spare earpiece was in there. He could feel it pressing against his thigh in the small pocket.

He could just barely reach it. He tried to push his hips up and twist. God, his back hurt now.

He kept glancing toward the door. He was certain someone was going to come in.

No one came just yet.

He then tried to bend down enough to touch his hand to his ear, but it did not work. He then tried to sit up. The strain made his arms burn, but he ignored it as he worked at maneuvering himself to a slouched sitting position.

He then leaned down, so much that his back hurt even more and his face was pressed against the table he was on. He then worked on attaching the earpiece to his ear.

Once he finished, he heard the door open and he sat up.

***

"What's he doing?" Clint muttered as he watched the monitor.

"I'm not sure," was Tony's reply. "He looked sorta possessed. Like the innocent kids in horror movies that, like, bend all weird."

"What're you two talking about?" Hope asked as she, Ava, and her parents made their way over to look at the screen. Once they saw what was going on, they ran for the door and Hope threw it open.

"Scott!" she shouted.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day? Who is she?

Scott jerked his head up and stared at the four heroes standing in the doorway.

He then sent a command to any ants in the area to come and help him.

Hope ran over to him and threw herself onto him, just as ants came scuttling through the cracks in the floors and walls. She ended up knocking the table over, sending both herself and Scott hurtling to the floor.

Scott cried out as his restraints prevented his arms from falling with him. He pulled himself to a sitting position and tried to summon more ants, but Hope reached over and yanked the earpiece out of his ear.

"Hey! I need that!" Scott whined.

"No you don't! Not in this condition!" Hope scolded. Then she peeked up and over the fallen table, over at her parents and Ava.

"Dad!" she called out. "You can call off the ants! I removed his earpiece!"

"Good job, Jellybean!" Janet called to her daughter as Hank used his own earpiece to call off the ants.

Scott huffed, annoyed, and looked away from Hope.

Hank came over to help Hope fix the table so Scott was laying on it again, while Janet went to get another syringe of the cure.

***

About an hour later, Scott began to feel hot and cold at the same time again.

Everyone was watching the monitor very intensely now. That way if someone looked away or blinked and missed something, there were several backup eyes.

"Should he be sweating like that?" Ava asked later, pointing to the screen.

"Yes," Hank said.

"It's the toxins leaving his body," Bruce explained.

Wanda had not spoken in hours now.

Tony was downing his fourth coffee.

Peter had fallen asleep on the ceiling.

May was watching Peter, to make sure he doesn't fall and hurt himself.

Hope was silent as she stared at the screen. It hurt her heart to see Scott like this. No matter how much he annoyed her at times, she really loved him and hated to see him in pain.

 _Please work, please work,_ she thought. _Please fix him._


	13. Chapter 13

Scott had passed out from the pain.

When he awoke, he was in the same room, but he had no memory of getting there. And when had he changed into these clothes? And where the fuck was he?

He looked around and groaned. His whole body was sore and warm bad sticky from sweat.

Then everything came crashing back to him. He hurt his friends, he tried to kill the girl who had become a second daughter to him, he knocked out the Hulk, and he took out one of Stark's most beloved AIs. He had almost killed Hope, and he had kept imagining killing his own daughter.

He had left Cassie in the kitchen by herself with Paxton on the phone!

He tried to sit up, very quickly, and ended up straining his muscles more. He grunted and looked around.

"Hey! Is anyone there?" he called out. "I have some questions and concerns!"

It seemed like minutes ticked by until the door opened and several people entered the room.

"Hey, what's going on? What exactly happened?" Scott began rapid firing. "I don't remember many small details. What's up?"

"You were intoxicated by the bugs we fought," Clint explained.

"It... changed you," Peter added.

"You tried to uh... to hurt everyone," said May.

"You tried to kill Wanda," Tony added coldly.

"I- I did?" Scott asked, eyes wide. He looked around for Wanda. He saw a glimpse of her jacket behind a very defensive Clint.

Scott tried to sit up, but fell back as everyone took on defensive positions. They were prepared to fight him if need be.

"I'm sorry," Scott mumbled. He tried to move his hand to cover his face, but could not move either of them. "Is that why I'm tied down?"

"Yeah," Natasha nodded.

"Where's Cassie?" Scott sounded very genuinely worried.

"She's safe. I called a bit ago," Hope replied.

"Are the toxins out of his system?" Janet asked.

"Should be," Hank and Bruce said at the same time. They looked at each other with disappointment. They had only known each other for a few hours and already were sharing a mindset.

"I... I'll run some tests on him just to be sure," Bruce said. Then he bustled off to get the equipment needed to do so.

***

Scott was soon sitting up on the table, his arm held out as Bruce ran some tests on his blood and DNA.

Bruce disconnected him from the equipment and smiled a little. "It's as if the toxins were never even there," he announced.

"Oh great! That's awesome!" Scott grinned. "Thanks, so much, Bruce."

"No problem," Bruce replied. "But the Pym's did most of the work. Without them, you'd probably be evil forever."

"Oh." Scott said, his grin faltering momentarily. "I... Thank you for helping, though."

"No problem," Bruce smiled again.

The two just stayed there for a long, quiet moment; then Scott cleared his throat. "We should probably get ready to go. I still have to apologize to Wanda."

"Yeah, okay," Bruce said and stepped back.

Scott hopped off the table and wiped the sweat from his hands onto his pants.

"Thanks again," he said before leaving the room.

Now to find the Scarlet Witch...


	14. Chapter 14

Scott found Wanda in her room, seated on her bed. He knocked on the door and cleared his throat. The girl jumped and looked at him. She squeaked and covered herself with a throw blanket. She also used her powers to push Scott out of the room.

After a moment, Wanda relaxed and then Scott reappeared in the doorway.

"Wanda, please," he said. "I just wanna talk."

"What's there to talk about?" Wanda asked. "You hurt me, you got better, I just have to ignore the pain until it becomes a part of me."

"No," Scott shook his head. "No, you- you don't have to..." He swallowed. He cautiously made his way over to her and sat beside her on the bed.

The girl under the blanket tensed up. That made the man wince. He really did hurt her, didn't he. He sighed.

"Wanda," he said in a gentle tone. "I- I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me. I just... That wasn't me. You know that if it were really me, I wouldn't hurt you. Ever."

Wanda peeked out from under the blanket. "Yeah?" she asked.

Scott nodded. "Of course! You're like a daughter to me. Like... like the older sister Cassie never had."

That made Wanda smile ever so slightly. She removed the blanket and turned on the mattress to face him. Scott noticed the scratches, cuts, and bruises on her face and frowned.

"Did I do that?" he asked, reaching out and lightly tracing a scarred cut on her cheek.

The teenager nodded. "Yes..." she whispered.

Then she hugged him tightly all of a sudden. The man's eyes widened and he looked down at her before smiling just a little and hugging back.


	15. Chapter 15

"Well, you're good to go," Bruce said to Scott.

Scott nodded and grinned. He felt much better than he had a few hours ago.

Hope and her parents were waiting out in the driveway in one of Hank's cars.

"Thanks for everything," Scott said, and waved goodbye to everyone, who had gathered around to see the four off. "And I'm sorry for everything."

"Don't worry about it," Sam said.

"We're just glad you're better," said Peter.

"If you or Cassie or any one else in your family needs anything—anything at all—just give me a call," May said.

Scott turned to Wanda. He smiled at her. He hated to leave her now... She threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.

"Be safe, Scott," she said. "Okay?"

"Okie dokie," Scott mumbled into her hair.

Wanda pulled back and looked up at him and chuckled. "Did you just say okie dokie?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Scott defended his choice in vocabulary.

"It suits you," Wanda giggled. She gave him one last hug, then he had to leave.

***

The Pym's dropped Scott off at Maggie and Paxton's, per the latter's request.

Scott took a deep breath before making his way up the driveway and to the front door. He hesitated before knocking.

A few moments passed, then the door opened and Maggie stood there.

"Scott!" she exclaimed. "You're better, right? I don't want you _anywhere near_ Cassie unless you're 100% better."

"I'm all fixed," Scott assured. "You can call the Avengers to double check if you want."

Maggie smiled. She knew it was really Scott and that he was okay. She threw open the screen door and hugged him. After a moment, she pulled away. "Come in! Come on in!" she urged, and pulled him inside by the arm. She called out for her husband and daughter.

Cassie came running out into the room. She froze when she saw her father, then she broke out into a grin. "Daddy!" she exclaimed and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him. She nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Hey, Peanut!" Scott beamed down at her.

"Are you okay?" Cassie asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah," Scott replied, and kneeled down in front of her after she let go of him. "The Avengers and Hank and Janet fixed me."

"What happened?" Cassie asked.

"Those bugs I told you about did something to me."

"I knew it!" Cassie exclaimed. "Mommy and Paxton said you were just confused."

"No," Scott shook his head. "I wasn't confused. Confusion can't cause what I did."

"I know! That's what I tried to tell them."

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Peanut."

"Of course I stuck up for you," the little girl said, looking him in the eyes, "You're my hero."

Scott smiled softly at her, his heart felt warm and fuzzy. He knew he was home and better.

"Scott!"

Scott looked up and saw Paxton standing in the doorway.

"You're all better, Buddy?" the cop asked the ex-con.

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "All better."

Paxton came over and pulled his wife's ex-husband in for a hug. "We missed you buddy," he said. "Especially Cassie. We were all worried sick!"

"I was intoxicated by evil minion beetles working for a villain we fought," Scott explained.

Paxton stiffened and pulled away from the other man. "What?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah," said the Ant-Man. "It sucked. I hurt a lot of people. Nearly killed one of my best friends..."

"You nearly killed Luis?" Maggie asked.

Scott shook his head. "No. Wanda."

"The Scarlet Witch?" Cassie asked. "The girl you basically adopted?"

"Yeah. That's the one."

"I'm so sorry," Maggie said. "Is she okay?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah. She's fine."

"Well... we're just glad you're back," Paxton said.

He pulled Scott in for another hug. Cassie joined them, and then Maggie did too.

Scott knew he was home and all better.

He no longer felt like a monster... Like a bad guy... Like he had hurt everyone he loved.

He knew he was no longer under the influence of toxins.

He was Scott Lang, ex-convict, father of Cassandra Lang, best friends with his ex-wife and her cop husband, the new Ant-Man, and honorary Avenger.

He was himself again.

He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter!
> 
> I'm planning on creating a sort-of soundtrack playlist for this, so give me some songs that remind you of this book and I'll include them!


	16. Soundtrack

The soundtrack is officially here! Just follow the link: [MONSTER - Scott Lang FanFic Playlist](https://8tracks.com/antmanandspiderman/monster-scott-lang-fanfic-soundtrack)


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